Cultural characteristics of Cordyceps militaris preserved in EFCC, Kangwon National University were investigated for the mass production. The higher mycelial density of C. militaris was observed in Sabouraud`s yeast and Yeast Malt agars, but the higher mycelial growth in Mushroom Minimal agar than other agars. The mycelium of C. militaris was observed to grow well at and pH 6.0 respectively. The dextrose was found the best suitable energy source among the carbohydrates used for its mycelial growth, while the fructose or lactose observed to be well for mycelial growth. Hemoglobin was observed to be the best among the protein sources used for mycelial growth, while tryptone found to be the best in the spore formation. Similarly, the mycelial growth was best in mineral salts of or and the optimum C/N ratio was 100 : 1.

The isolates of Cordyceps militaris preserved in EFCC, Kangwon National University were investigated to form the fruiting bodies under artificial conditions. The fruiting bodies were observed to be better in the 1l polyethylene bottle containing of brown rice and of water. Addition of of pupae per bottle showed higher fruiting. Similarly, addition of sucrose, peptone or hemoglobin also had favorable effect on fruiting. were favorable for mycelial growth and fruiting respectively. Light intensity of 500 lux and 12 h of light/dark period produced highest amount of fruit bodies.

This experiment was carried out to study formation of fruitbody with Cordyceps scarabaeicola (EFCC C-252) isolate. This isolate was the one of best fruitbody formation on brown rice 60 g plus 30 g silkworm pupa media among EFCC C-251, EFCC C-252, EFCC C-1092 from EFCC (Entomopathogenic Fungal Culture Collection) of Kangwon National University. Fruiting body was formed only isolate EFCC C-252 among tested isolates on the medium of brown rice (60 g) and silkworm pupae (30 g). The optimal temperature and light for fruiting body formation were and fluorescent light (300 lux). The maximal fruiting body formation was observed at 70 g of brown rice and 80 g of silkworm pupa medium which was treated separately. Fruiting body was formed maximally by 2 days interval of irrigation.

This study was carried to investigate efficient pot diameter and substrate weight in pot cultivation of Pleurotus ostreatus. Cultivating substrate was pine sawdust+beet pulp+cotten seed flour (50 : 30 : 20, v/v). Ranges of pot diameter and substrate weight were , respectively. Smaller pot diameter resulted in longer pot length according to increasing substrate weight, so mycelial growth period and total cultivation period was retarded. Wider pot diameter resulted in a little lower biological efficiency in the same substrate weight. Heavier substrate weight was brought higher yield but lower biological efficiency. Average yield according to pot diameter was decreased at wider than 14 cm during second flush. And average biological efficiency according to substrate weight was lower than 100% at heavier than 1,200 g/pot during second flush. So suitable pot diameter and substrate weight in pot cultivation of Pleurotus ostreatus were estimated , respectively.

The genetic variations and the rate of mycelial growth in the dikaryon and the monokaryon stages of Pleurotus spp. were surveyed during their subcultures. The highest growth rate was observed on both the 3rd and the 4th subcultures. The remarkably rapid growth rate was detected in P. ostreatus dikaryon. Genetic similarities in the dikaryon and the monokaryon of P. ostreatus were more than 57.5% and 85.7%, respectively, and those of P. eryngii were more than 85.2% and 84.8%, respectively. The genetic similarities of monokaryotic P. ostreatus were higher than those of dikaryotic. The topology of phylogenetic trees showed that the divergence and the clustering patterns of branch did not correlated with the number of subcultures. This suggests that genetic variations occur very randomly on mycelial cultures. These results suggest that the monokaryotic mycelia is genetically more stable than the dikaryotic in subcultures, and that it is very useful to stock monokaryotic mycelia for making spawns and breeding of Pleurotus spp.

Since lectin condense more easily cancer cell than normal cell, it has been investigated very actively. Recently, a lot of researchers gave attention to lectin in natural products especially because lectin has effects on T-cell activation and anticancer activity, and specificity on polysaccharide. The specificity is useful to confirm kind of polysaccharide of the cell surface and to study the polysaccharide. In this research, we purified lectin from shiitake, Lentinula edodes, and then characterized it. The molecular weight of the lectin was 23 kDa, and it was stable only under the and in a alkaline solution. As for the specificity of polysaccharide, the lectin had specificity on galactose, fucose, glucose, lactose and N-acetyl-D-galactosamine. In addition, it was confirmed to be a glycoprotein.

The study was conducted to isolate and identify insecticidal bacteria for biological control of larvae of mushroom fly, Lycoriella mali, which is one of serious pests to oyster mushrooms during its cultivation period. Among eight bacteria isolated from the soil in the oyster mushroom beds and the dead body of L. mali, two bacteria, Bti-D and Bti-U showed more toxicity with mortality rate than other six-bacteria isolates. The two bacteria showed more toxicity in three instar of the period of development of the mushroom fly than in other instar. Symptoms of the larvae of L. mali infected by the two bacteria developed as follows: at the early infection, the front middle gut changed color to light brown, the middle gut to brown, whole body to black brown, and eventually, the fly died. For the identification of these isolates, cultural and biochemical characteristics by Bergey`s manual and Biolog system, cell morphology by TEM, endospore and endotoxin by phase-contrast microscope, and test using 33H antisera were examined. According to the results, these two isolates, Bti-D and Bti-U were identified as Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis respectively.

Biological control against mushroom fly, Lycoriella mali, was performed by using Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis Bti-D and Bti-U, isolated from dead mushroom fly in oyster mushroom houses. Control values of the bacterial strains Bti-D and Bti-U against L. mali in bottle culture of oyster mushroom were 74.4% and 64.2%, respectively, and the value in small tray culture were 75.8% and 56.8%, respectively. In the experiment to develop the mass, cheap media for Bti-D and Bti-U isolates, the Biji broth (bean curd residue, called Biji in Korean language) was selected as a culture medium for an inexpensive and mass cultivation by the measurement of optical density of the two bacteria grown in the different media tested. Insecticidal effect of the formulation contained different ingredients that were prepared by using the Bti-D strain cultured in the Biji broth was tested in tray and bottle culture of oyster mushroom. The WCS formulation that contained corn starch as bio-gel (86.4%) was more effective to control the mushroom fly than living cells (69.1%) in bottle culture of oyster mushroom. Moreover, insecticidal effect of the WCS formulation was improved when water of pH 8 was used for dilution of the formulation. Effect of the WCS formulation using water of pH 8 and chemicals, Zuron (dimillin) W.P. on the control of mushroom fly and the productivity of oyster mushroom was investigated in tray culture of oyster mushroom. The Zuron W.P. was more effective to control the mushroom fly than the WCS formulation. However, compared with no treatment, the productivity of the mushroom treated with the WCS formulation was improved than that of the mushroom with Zuron W.P.

Sixteen Curvularia isolates were collected from leaf spots and blights on gramineous plants of field crops, grass pasture plants, turfgrasses and wild weeds in Korea in 1998. These isolates were identified as C. cymbopogonis, C. inaequalis, C. intermedia, C. lunata, C. lunata var. aeria, C. ovoidea, C. pallescens and C. senegalensis based on the mycological characteristics. Of these, C. cymbopogonis, C. lunata var. aeria, C. ovoidea and C. senegalensis were recorded for the first time in Korea.

The objectives of this study were to find the nuruk fungal isolate for Korean traditional rice wine and to compare the tastes of rice wines made with its single inoculum. The fungal isolates including the species of Absidia, Mucor, Rhizopus and Aspergillus were used for Korean traditional rice-wine production. The four species were cultured and measured for productions of amylase under various water contents. The four different species tested were different in their growth under the rice cereals with different moisture contents; the species of Absidia and Rhizopus grew better compared to the other species under the lower moisture conditions. The tastes and alcohol concentrations of the rice-wines made with each different inoculum were compared with those of commercial rice wines made with traditional method. As a result, it was speculated that the traditional rice wines were made with nuruk, which is mainly composed of Zygomycetous fungi, such as Absidia, Mucor, and Rhzopus. Also, it was strongly suggested that the traditional nuruk might not be a source of amylase, but a source of fungal inoculum.

To develop DNA markers for analysis of genetic characteristics of Phytophthora capsici population, randomly selected clones from HindIII-digested genomic DNA library of P. capsici 95CY3119 were surveyed by hybridizing to Southern blots of HindIII-digested total genomic DNA of P. capsici. Probe DNAs inserted into selected individual clones strongly hybridized with HindIII digests of P. capsici. Among probes examined, PC9 revealed the repetitive and highly polymorphic bands to HindIII digests of inter-and intra-field P. capsici isolates. Genetic diversity of individual isolates was also clearly revealed in cluster analysis based on its band patterns. The other probe, PC22, was hybridized only to DNA from P. capsici and this was highly repetitive. However, there was no response to other Phytophthora species and Pythium sp. These DNA probes could be used as very useful markers in analysing genetic diversity and identification for P. capsici population throughout the world.